One of the saddest moments of 2017 was the fact that we not only lost Chris Cornell, but that a short time later we also lost Chester Bennington of Linkin Park. I can remember as a member of Massasoit Community College’s radio station, we were invited to a record release party for Hybrid Theory and at that time I had no idea how huge this band would become. After six amazing studio albums, I wondered what else could this band possibly do and the album One More Light was the answer as it was voted Album Of The Year by you the fans at this years Monster Entertainment Awards. The final lineup on the record was Chester (Vocals), Mike Shinoda (Vocals, Programming, Keyboards), Brad Delson (Guitars), Phoenix (Bass), Joe Hahn (Programming), and Rob Bourdon (Drums). The album was produced by Brad Delson and Mike Shinoda and it was released on May 19, 2017 via Warner Brothers. The album did so well that peaked at number one in 7 different countries while also peaking in the top 5 in 7 different countries. In the year end album charts it finished at number 90 on the US Billboard top 200 too. The album was recorded very differently than usual as they recorded vocals first and then built the music around it. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Shinoda described the record saying, “In terms of the style of the record, it’s one of the most diverse stylistically, there’s more genres mashed into this album than anything we’ve ever put out. You don’t hear a lot of super heavy guitars. There isn’t any screaming on the record. To some extent it is a very polished record. Stylistically we wanted to blend all of the sound and genres together in a way you can’t tell them apart.”

1. Nobody Can Save Me– The track that kicks off this musical experiment with some electronic elements mixed in with some guitars and I feel this is a very personal song from Chester. It’s like he’s saying that no matter what you tell him, he doesn’t feel he can be saved. 4/5

2. Good Goodbye– The second track that follows the more hip hop element of the band mixed with the guitars and such. The song features Pusha T and Stormzy providing their own verses along with Shinoda who raps the first verse. I feel like this is a track where the band is saying if you’re not with us then goodbye to you. 5/5

3. Talking To Myself– One of my favorite tracks on the album that has more of a rock/pop sound that Chester is talking about a relationship that just isn’t going anywhere. 5/5

4. Battle Symphony– Another amazing song on the album where Chester is telling you that no matter hate is thrown at him, he will always have his guard up, but he’s also pleading to the fans not to give up on him either. 5/5

5. Invisible– One of the tracks that features singing from Shinoda and I was impressed with it. It’s one of those tracks that if something bad happened to you that you no longer have to worry because he is going to be there for you now because he’s not afraid to speak up anymore. 5/5

6. Heavy– A track that truly took a lot of criticism upon it’s release for being a slow burn pop song, but it’s honestly a great track featuring Kiiara on vocals as well. It’s a very deep track that kind of pinpoints Chester’s depression because the song is a metaphor for when it rains it pours kind of attitude. 5/5

7. Sorry For Now– This is the other track on the album that features Shinoda singing the vocals in a track that is about someone who knows that he messed up because maybe he wasn’t there for the person and he understands that they are mad, but he saying I will try next time. The track in parts has an almost dubstep feel to it. 4.5/5

8. Halfway Right-The song is kind of retrospective lyrically because it’s Chester looking back at how he may have handled things wrong back in the day, but he finally realizes that now. 5/5

9. One More Light-A very personal and amazing track that deal with the idea of loss and how some take it for granted. Another example of how brilliant Chester really was and this is a track to help you with loss. 5/5

10. Sharp Edges– The last track on the album that has a little bit of a folk feel to it ina track that is all about how you should listen to your elders because they now a thing or two about life, but sometimes you do need to live a little too. 4/5

My Final Thoughts– Listening to this album, you realize how brilliant this band is and even though Chester is gone, we have a catalog to remember his brilliance. I think the direction change was ballsy, but I think it paid off in the long run because they’ve always done what they’ve wanted to do. I love every track on this album, but my favorite songs are Invisible and Talking To Myself. This time I am not picking a least favorite track so I am going to go ahead and give the album 4.7 stars out of five for a final grade.